Tuusula moped meet: Questions and answers 

The stopping situation involving the rider of a two-wheeled vehicle in Tuusula on Saturday 8 August has prompted discussion in the media and on social media. This page brings together general questions and answers related to the topic.

The information was updated on 11 August 2026. 

What happened in Tuusula? 

Police were monitoring traffic in Tuusula and observed a two-wheeled vehicle without a registration plate. Police followed the rider, who attempted to flee. 

The details of the incident will be clarified in two separate pre-trial investigations, which examine the actions of the rider of the two-wheeled vehicle and, separately, the actions of the police. The former is investigated by the Helsinki Police Department and the latter by the prosecutor. Under the law, they are also responsible for communications concerning the investigations. 

How is it possible that the police provide information to the public that later turns out to be inaccurate?

Communicating about a criminal investigation is challenging because information may change and become more precise as the investigation progresses. What is essential is to correct and update information when it differs from what was previously communicated. This is an absolute prerequisite for maintaining public trust. The police have also corrected inaccurate information published by the media themselves.

Public authority communications require a balance between reliability and speed. If a choice must be made, we prioritize reliability.

How is supervision of moped riders usually carried out? 

Police departments are responsible for moped enforcement in their areas. Enforcement is carried out both through intensified theme-based operations and as part of daily traffic policing. 

What are typical risks in pursuits involving young moped riders? 

It should be noted that young people’s traffic behaviour may be impulsive and they may not be capable of the same kind of anticipation as adults. This may appear, for example, as risk-taking. A young person may also panic when police are following them and preparing to stop them. 

Police must take this into account in their overall assessment, and in following situations particular attention must be paid to the safety of bystanders. Police must not, through their own actions, cause unnecessary danger to bystanders. 

In addition, the safety of the target persons and the occupational safety of the police must be taken into account. Instead of using a method that causes danger, alternative ways of resolving the situation or determining the whereabouts of the person being followed should be considered. 

How should police assess the risks versus the benefits of a pursuit? 

As the situation develops, a continuous overall assessment must be made, taking the principle of proportionality into account. Before taking measures, efforts should be made to guide the vehicle to a safe stopping place and to reduce its speed. 

When do the police have the right or obligation to initiate a pursuit? 

Under the Police Act, measures must be justified in relation to the importance and urgency of the task and the circumstances affecting the overall assessment of the situation. Police also have the right to abandon a measure if completing it could lead to unreasonable consequences in relation to the desired outcome. The decision to begin following a fleeing person or to abandon it is therefore always made case by case on the basis of the information available at that moment. 

As a starting point, traffic violations do not justify or require pursuit in accordance with the principle of proportionality. 

What instructions do police have regarding stopping a vehicle? 

Police conduct in relation to following a fleeing person is governed by the police internal order “Police emergency driving and following a fleeing person” and the “Decree of the Ministry of the Interior on police use of force and stopping a vehicle”. The Police Act, which lays down provisions including the principle of proportionality, the principle of minimum harm and the principle of purpose limitation, also provides the framework for vehicle-stopping situations. 

When may police use a vehicle as an “instrument” to stop another vehicle? 

When stopping a vehicle, police may use driving ahead, an obstacle, wedging, driving into contact, threatening with a vehicle, a spike strip and a roadblock. 

In following situations, particular attention must be paid to the safety of bystanders. Police must not, through their own actions, cause unnecessary danger to bystanders. In addition, the safety of the target persons and the occupational safety of the police must be taken into account. 

Following a fleeing person and the scope and degree of deviation from the regulations must be justifiable in relation to the legal interest protected by the task. In a task involving following a fleeing person, police must assess what legal interest is being protected and proportion any deviation from the regulations accordingly, so that the safety of other road users is not unnecessarily endangered. 

What is the significance of the red light and when must it be used? 

Under the Road Traffic Act, a red flashing light shown from a traffic supervisor’s motor-driven vehicle simultaneously with a blue flashing warning light means that the vehicle ahead must move to the side of the road and stop. 

A stop order for a vehicle may also be given orally, by hand signals, light signals or other generally recognisable signals. The signal must be given in such a way that the driver of the vehicle subject to the measure is able to identify the person giving the signal as a police officer. 

Are there situations where a pursuit must be discontinued for safety reasons? 

It should be noted that instead of using a method that causes danger, alternative ways of resolving the situation or determining the whereabouts of the person being followed should be considered. Situations involving following a fleeing person develop quickly, and they emphasise rapid decisions made by the officer under official responsibility. 

Police have the right to abandon a measure if completing it could lead to an unreasonable outcome in relation to the objective pursued. When following a fleeing vehicle, police must continuously be able to make an overall assessment of the situation and consider the scaling and grounds of police measures. 

Is using a vehicle to stop another vehicle use of force? 

A vehicle is not a use-of-force instrument, but using a vehicle in a forced stop constitutes use of force. Provisions on the use of force to stop a vehicle are laid down in a decree of the Ministry of the Interior. In the use of force measures applied to stop a vehicle, account must be taken of the traffic conditions, the driving style of the driver of the vehicle subject to stopping measures, the type, weight and speed of the vehicle to be stopped, and other factors affecting the stopping of the vehicle.

Special attention must be paid to the safety of bystanders. When following a fleeing vehicle, police must continuously be able to make an overall assessment of the situation and consider the scaling of police measures. 

What level of use of force would this be, minor or severe? 

When discussing driving ahead, an obstacle, wedging, driving into contact, threatening with a vehicle, a spike strip and a roadblock in a stopping situation, these may be described as significant methods among the means used to stop a vehicle. 

What criteria apply to the use of force, such as proportionality and necessity? 

General context: To prevent an immediately threatening offence or another dangerous act or event, police may use necessary force that can be considered justifiable. When assessing whether the use of force is justifiable, the importance and urgency of the task, the dangerousness of the resistance, the resources available and other circumstances affecting the overall assessment of the situation must always be taken into account. 

In use-of-force situations, the least severe effective means possible is used, but the use of force must not be insufficiently scaled. 

How are police officers trained to assess situations in the field? 

Situations are rapid and multidimensional, and assessing them requires not only theoretical and tactical competence but also quick decision-making ability and stress tolerance. The theoretical foundation of training consists of norms, orders and instructions, and practical competence is developed through exercises. However, it is not possible to simulate and practise every possible situation in police work, so competence is continuously developed, including through workplace training. 

How are police officers trained to drive vehicles? 

Driving a police vehicle is a significant part of professional police competence and police work. Under the relevant guidance, police units must highlight driving a police vehicle as an important part of police occupational safety. Police units must monitor developments in accidents involving police vehicles and take the necessary measures to resolve identified problems. Under the decree, police units must prepare for forced-stop situations through advance plans, taking into account, among other things, cooperation between police units, the mapping and selection of locations suitable for forced stops and the operating models to be applied. 

How are police officers trained to stop vehicles? 

Driver training and the basics of the use of force are studied in basic police training, and competence is supplemented through further training and workplace training. 

In what situations is a police officer alone in a patrol car or other police vehicle?

There are many different factors involved here. Firstly, the police have a wide range of duties, some of which require different numbers of officers to carry out. In patrol and emergency response operations, the standard practice is traditionally for a patrol to consist of two officers, but the specific duties and available resources are always taken into account in practice. Actual solo patrolling is carried out less frequently, as it involves, amongst other things, a significant occupational safety risk. Of course, there are also tasks within patrol and emergency response operations that can be managed effectively by a single-officer patrol. Although motorcycle police officers may appear to be patrolling alone, they are usually supported by another police motorcycle or a police car – these simply do not stand out from the flow of traffic as they are often unmarked. Ultimately, however, single-officer patrols are about the efficient and appropriate use of scarce resources.

How is a situation investigated when a police officer is suspected of a traffic offence? 

A police offence means an offence suspected of having been committed by a police officer and the related preliminary clarification. If a police officer is suspected of having committed an offence in connection with the performance of official duties, the investigation is led by the prosecutor under chapter 2, section 4, subsection 1 of the Criminal Investigation Act (805/2011). 

In these cases, leadership of the investigation of police offences rests with the prosecutor. The Police Offences Investigation Unit is located at the Office of the Prosecutor General. The police offence investigators are centralised at the National Bureau of Investigation, and they carry out investigations of police offence matters in accordance with the directions of the head of investigation. 

For traffic offences, the procedure is the same unless the matter is minor, for example a fine matter. In traffic accidents where the other party is someone other than a police officer, investigative responsibilities are also divided among police departments unless it is appropriate to centralise the matter to the police offence unit. 

Why do the police not comment if a police officer is suspected of breaking the law? 

If the criminal suspicion concerns events related to the performance of official duties by the police, the prosecutor is always the head of investigation and is also responsible for communications. 

Further information: syyttajalaitos.fi/en/processing-of-a-criminal-matter/criminal-matters-involving-the-police/ 

Investigation of an offence suspected of having been committed by the police.

Is the civil servant in question still working in traffic enforcement duties? 

The police officer suspected of offences is not currently working in traffic enforcement duties, but has been transferred to other duties for the duration of the investigation. The management of the police department has stated publicly that in a video posted on social media shows conduct open to criticism and that it is excellent that an impartial party is now clarifying the course of events. 

A civil service law procedure concerning the suspected police officer will now also begin in the matter, in which it will later be considered how the matter affects the officer’s position. Decisions in that procedure are expected only later. 

What is the rider of the two-wheeled vehicle suspected of? 

The Helsinki Police Department is investigating the actions of the rider of the two-wheeled vehicle. 

Police suspect a 15-year-old of aggravated endangerment of traffic safety. The preliminary offence titles in the pre-trial investigation are aggravated endangerment of traffic safety, driving a vehicle without a right to drive and a vehicle violation. 

• Aggravated endangerment of traffic safety due to high situational speed. 
• The moped had been structurally modified so that it is classified as a motorcycle. The matter is being investigated as a vehicle violation. 
• In addition, the rider is suspected of driving a vehicle without a right to drive because he did not have a valid right to drive a light motorcycle. 

Does the case endanger trust in the police? 

According to the latest Police Barometer, 92 per cent of citizens trust the police quite a lot or very much. That trust has been earned through daily basic work over several decades. 

Those of us in office have a duty to act in such a way that this trust in the police is not endangered under any circumstances. The foundation is the police’s unified operating culture and uncompromisingly lawful and ethically sustainable action. The police handle more than one million emergency assignments each year. If we make mistakes, we must learn from them. 

I am disappointed in the actions of the police. Where can I give feedback? 

Feedback to the police can be given through several channels, for example via the police website or social media. 

The police may be criticised, but remember to keep it appropriate. Denigration, dissemination of private information or threats may meet the elements of an offence. 
 
This is an AI-generated translation.